{"id":{"repo_id":"cambridge","oai_identifier":"oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/378890"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cambridge/oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/378890","repository":{"repo_id":"cambridge","name":"Cambridge University","base_url":"https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Implementation of STEAM Curriculum and the Manifestation of Arts in STEAM Curriculum in a Public Primary School in Mainland China: A Case Study","abstract":"The STEAM educational paradigm, which integrates science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, has developed rapidly worldwide. Since its introduction in China in 2008, it has drawn increasing attention from researchers and practitioners in the Chinese context. However, controversies and ambiguities remain regarding STEAM education and the manifestation of the arts within this context, and rigorous empirical studies are limited. This study aims to fill these research gaps and provide effective references to the field. This study primarily focuses on the context of Chinese public primary schools and explores how STEAM is implemented, how the arts are manifested within STEAM, and what social factors contribute to these processes. Activity theory is adopted as a theoretical framework to guide this study. It views the implementation of the STEAM curriculum in Chinese primary schools as an activity system to explore the interactions and tensions between the system components: the subjects (teachers), the objects (students’ learning experiences), the mediation (arts), and the social factors (rules, community, and division of labour). Based on the activity theory, the study proposes the following research questions: (1) How do Chinese primary school teachers conceptualise and practice the STEAM curriculum and manifest the arts in STEAM curriculum practice? (2) What are students’ experiences with STEAM curriculum practices and the manifestation of the arts in STEAM curriculum practice? (3) What rules, community, or division of labour contribute to teachers’ conceptualisations, classroom practices, and students’ experiences with the STEAM curriculum and the manifestation of the arts in STEAM? To address research questions, this study employed a case study approach and selected a public primary school in Beijing, China, renowned for its successful STEAM education. This study selected ten STEAM projects from the school’s STEAM curriculum offered during the spring 2023 semester. Ten teachers who taught these projects and 41 students who attended them were invited as participants. Data collection included classroom observations of ten STEAM projects, 20 interviews with teachers, 41 interviews with students, and the analysis of 33 documents. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The study identified interactions and tensions between components within the activity system. Firstly, it found that Chinese primary school teachers mitigated the constraints of the disciplinary-specific national curriculum by localising the STEAM curriculum and using the pedagogy of real-world problem-solving, interdisciplinary integration, and student-centred learning, thereby facilitating successful implementation. Secondly, the study revealed two forms of arts manifestation within the STEAM curriculum at the school, namely arts knowledge and skills and arts pedagogy. Lastly, it identified the factors that contribute to STEAM curriculum implementation and the manifestation of the arts in terms of rules, community, and division of labour. The study also highlighted the limitations and challenges teachers face during implementation, including constraints imposed by social factors such as the discipline-specific educational system and the national curriculum. This research addresses the gap in empirical studies on STEAM curriculum implementation in Chinese primary schools, particularly concerning the manifestation of the arts. The findings offer valuable insights and future efforts for stakeholders seeking to promote STEAM education and arts manifestation in Chinese primary schools and similar contexts.","abstract_html":"The STEAM educational paradigm, which integrates science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, has developed rapidly worldwide. Since its introduction in China in 2008, it has drawn increasing attention from researchers and practitioners in the Chinese context. However, controversies and ambiguities remain regarding STEAM education and the manifestation of the arts within this context, and rigorous empirical studies are limited. This study aims to fill these research gaps and provide effective references to the field. This study primarily focuses on the context of Chinese public primary schools and explores how STEAM is implemented, how the arts are manifested within STEAM, and what social factors contribute to these processes. Activity theory is adopted as a theoretical framework to guide this study. It views the implementation of the STEAM curriculum in Chinese primary schools as an activity system to explore the interactions and tensions between the system components: the subjects (teachers), the objects (students’ learning experiences), the mediation (arts), and the social factors (rules, community, and division of labour). Based on the activity theory, the study proposes the following research questions: (1) How do Chinese primary school teachers conceptualise and practice the STEAM curriculum and manifest the arts in STEAM curriculum practice? (2) What are students’ experiences with STEAM curriculum practices and the manifestation of the arts in STEAM curriculum practice? (3) What rules, community, or division of labour contribute to teachers’ conceptualisations, classroom practices, and students’ experiences with the STEAM curriculum and the manifestation of the arts in STEAM? To address research questions, this study employed a case study approach and selected a public primary school in Beijing, China, renowned for its successful STEAM education. This study selected ten STEAM projects from the school’s STEAM curriculum offered during the spring 2023 semester. Ten teachers who taught these projects and 41 students who attended them were invited as participants. Data collection included classroom observations of ten STEAM projects, 20 interviews with teachers, 41 interviews with students, and the analysis of 33 documents. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The study identified interactions and tensions between components within the activity system. Firstly, it found that Chinese primary school teachers mitigated the constraints of the disciplinary-specific national curriculum by localising the STEAM curriculum and using the pedagogy of real-world problem-solving, interdisciplinary integration, and student-centred learning, thereby facilitating successful implementation. Secondly, the study revealed two forms of arts manifestation within the STEAM curriculum at the school, namely arts knowledge and skills and arts pedagogy. Lastly, it identified the factors that contribute to STEAM curriculum implementation and the manifestation of the arts in terms of rules, community, and division of labour. The study also highlighted the limitations and challenges teachers face during implementation, including constraints imposed by social factors such as the discipline-specific educational system and the national curriculum. This research addresses the gap in empirical studies on STEAM curriculum implementation in Chinese primary schools, particularly concerning the manifestation of the arts. The findings offer valuable insights and future efforts for stakeholders seeking to promote STEAM education and arts manifestation in Chinese primary schools and similar contexts.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Zhao, Yuehan"],"institution":"University of Cambridge","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Bill, Nicholl"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-09-29","date_published":"2024-09-29","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:25Z","subjects":["Activity theory","Arts manifestation in STEAM","Chinese primary school","STEAM education"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/133c0dfa-2151-4bf1-912e-94ef471dfa46/download","http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.115128","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Bill, Nicholl"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Zhao, Yuehan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-09-29"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cambridge"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby.uri","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/378890"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Activity theory","Arts manifestation in STEAM","Chinese primary school","STEAM education"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/133c0dfa-2151-4bf1-912e-94ef471dfa46/download","http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved"]},{"key":"dc:rights.embargodate","label":"Dc Rights Embargodate","values":["2026-01-17"]},{"key":"dc:rights.embargotype","label":"Dc Rights Embargotype","values":["embargo"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.115128"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/77607cf0-36a6-4973-a6ec-bd2dd6964184/download"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The STEAM educational paradigm, which integrates science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, has developed rapidly worldwide. 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It views the implementation of the STEAM curriculum in Chinese primary schools as an activity system to explore the interactions and tensions between the system components: the subjects (teachers), the objects (students’ learning experiences), the mediation (arts), and the social factors (rules, community, and division of labour). Based on the activity theory, the study proposes the following research questions: (1) How do Chinese primary school teachers conceptualise and practice the STEAM curriculum and manifest the arts in STEAM curriculum practice? (2) What are students’ experiences with STEAM curriculum practices and the manifestation of the arts in STEAM curriculum practice? (3) What rules, community, or division of labour contribute to teachers’ conceptualisations, classroom practices, and students’ experiences with the STEAM curriculum and the manifestation of the arts in STEAM? To address research questions, this study employed a case study approach and selected a public primary school in Beijing, China, renowned for its successful STEAM education. This study selected ten STEAM projects from the school’s STEAM curriculum offered during the spring 2023 semester. Ten teachers who taught these projects and 41 students who attended them were invited as participants. Data collection included classroom observations of ten STEAM projects, 20 interviews with teachers, 41 interviews with students, and the analysis of 33 documents. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The study identified interactions and tensions between components within the activity system. 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Firstly, it found that Chinese primary school teachers mitigated the constraints of the disciplinary-specific national curriculum by localising the STEAM curriculum and using the pedagogy of real-world problem-solving, interdisciplinary integration, and student-centred learning, thereby facilitating successful implementation. Secondly, the study revealed two forms of arts manifestation within the STEAM curriculum at the school, namely arts knowledge and skills and arts pedagogy. Lastly, it identified the factors that contribute to STEAM curriculum implementation and the manifestation of the arts in terms of rules, community, and division of labour. The study also highlighted the limitations and challenges teachers face during implementation, including constraints imposed by social factors such as the discipline-specific educational system and the national curriculum. 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